rest

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A period of relaxing or doing nothing in order to recover energy.

   You look tired; you should take a rest.

2. 2
   verb

   To stop activity in order to relax and regain energy.

   We rested for a while before continuing our hike.

3. 3
   noun

   Sleep.

   I need to get a good rest tonight; I was up late last night.

4. 4
   verb

   To place or lean something so that it is supported.

   She rested her elbows on the table.

5. 5
   noun

   A support on which something can be placed.

   He steadied the camera on a small rest.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Rest meaning “stop working or moving” is inherited from Old English and comes from a root meaning “league” or “mile,” apparently referring to a distance after which someone rested. The unrelated noun meaning “the remaining part” entered in late Middle English from Latin restare, “to remain.”

From Middle English rest, reste, from Old English ræst, from Proto-West Germanic *rastu, from Proto-Germanic *rastō, from Proto-Indo-European *ros-, *res-, *erH- (“rest”). Cognate with West Frisian rêst (“rest”), Dutch rust (“rest”), German Rast (“rest”), Swedish rast (“rest”), Norwegian rest (“rest”), Icelandic röst (“rest”), Old Irish árus (“dwelling”), German Ruhe (“calm”), Albanian resht (“to stop, pause”), Welsh araf (“quiet, calm, gentle”), Lithuanian rovà (“calm”), Ancient Greek ἐρωή (erōḗ, “rest, respite”), Avestan 𐬀𐬌𐬭𐬌𐬨𐬈 (aⁱrime, “calm, peaceful”), Sanskrit रमते (rámate, “he stays sti…

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary